Walk Along the River – A to Z of Things to do & Places to Visit in London

Walk the river Thames from Westminster Bridge via the Victoria Embankment, cross the river at Blackfriars Bridge and follow the South Bank all the way back to where the journey began. This river walk has it all including stunning views, history galore beautiful buildings, free entertiament and stacks of things to see and do.

Most of us have mobile devices nowadays… so if you come across a historic monument, sculpture or building and you want to know more, it doesn’t take long to Google something and get all the information you need. This is the future of walking in London… you can walk at your own pace, stop for a seat when you want, go for a coffee or ale when you want, not when the tour guide tells you!

I have walked this walk from Westminster Bridge and back again on numerous occasions, at all times of the day or night. Whether you choose to walk this stretch of the Thames on a beautiful summers days or on freezing cold Winter night you wont be disappointed. My preference is on a cold dark Winters night… there are less people, the buildings shining bright against the river are a stunning sight to see and in my mind the ambiance is much better, it becomes a much more relaxed place in comparison to during the day!

This walk is best enjoyed by taking your time to appreciate the huge amount of sculptures, monuments, and buildings, go onto every bridge to enjoy the views, pop across the road to wander around in Somerset House and perhaps visit some of their free exhibitions, or maybe visit hidden gems like Magpie Alley? What about popping into a cool pub such as the The Black Friar for a pint of real cask ale and that is only the north side of the river.

Cross over to the South Bank and, watch some of the street entertainers, walk on to the piers and enjoy the view, take a picnic in one of the parks, pop into Royal Festival Hall and take a peek at their latest free exhibition, or perhaps take a wee detour over to the Waterloo Graffiti Tunnel. I have only scratched the surface as to what there is to do and best of all it doesn’t have to cost any money.

Walk Along the River

The memorial plaque of W T Stead which sits on Victoria Embankment is something that I have walked past many times without really taking much interest in it. During my last walk I stopped and read the plaque, and then decided to dig a little deeper as my curiosity had been aroused. He was a Victorian English journalist and editor. Who during his day one of the most controversial men of his era. He was one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism and paved the way for today’s tabloid press. Stead was an advocate of woman’s rights, a world peace advocate, a defender of civil liberties, and did his bit for the deprived and oppressed. I don’t think he wouldn’t be too impressed with the way the gutter press behave nowadays! William Thomas Stead died aboard the doomed RMS Titanic when it sank deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean on the 15 April 1912.

A similar plaque to the one on Victoria Embankment, was erected in Central Park in New York.

Walk the River Thames from Westminster Bridge to Westminster Bridge… this is a truly fantastic walk to do at any time of the day or night, during any time of the year! If you have a heart and soul this river stroll will captivate, excite and amaze you…